Red Zone: 4th and Goal
by SILENT TROWA
Summary: In the beginning of a new season, The Koigahama Cupids challege the Devil Bats to a PreSeason Bowl game. In the critcal turn in the game, Fourth Down and goal, the bats must turn to a Different unlikely hero to procure a miracle...


Im sick of the eyeshield fics on being all about yaoi and school, but having little to nothing to do about FOOTBALL! C'mon foo! Get some fire up in ya ass!

Without further ado, I give y'all The Red Zone, 3rd and eight.

Puff.

Puff.

Scritch.

Scritch.

Sena thought he was breathing acid. His legs burned, his muscles spewing lactic acid as they were low on oxygen. His hands idle at his hips, and his pads scratched the back of his head he panted.

For lack of better words, it was hot as the hell's attic in the Demon Bats field, and the absence of wind wasn't helping. The sun beat down on the massive crowd of students, and on the new scoreboard that loomed over the schoolside bleachers. It was late afternoon, after school and the shadow the board cast over the field was crowded with demon bats players, scratching a meager sanctuary from the heat. The board chalked up zero points in the middle of the 4th quarter, and the yards to go a dismal 10.

Sena's cluttered head lolled as cornerback Yuuki Sawamura jerked at his jersey, drawing its bottom out of sena's pants and pulled it back taut into a knot halfway sena's back. After the slack was secured, he tucked it into the back of his light pads. The result sent the girls on the belacers behind him into a tumultuous uproar as the school hero stood before him, his jersey pulled up and tied back, exposing his chiseled midsection, sweat glistening in the setting sun.

Sena refused to look back at the fans, as the resounding cries of "Kawaii!" and "Kakko-ii!" Would cause the entire team to cover their ears. His blushes were hid behind his facemask.

On the field, the referee wiped his sweaty face and checked his timer.

TWEEEEEEEEEEET

Eleven Bats players, some sitting, some standing, some at the water and some with the quarterback snapped up their helmets and begin to assemble on the field, 5 yards behind the ball.

In the stands, sipping idly at a coke sat a man with a massive afro. On his leg sat a notebook, in it countless plays and descriptions, names and numbers. It was the notebook of only 3 types of people. Scouts, Coaches, and Sports Journalists. He was a little mysterious and a bit out of place but Hiruma could spot him from the kickoff. No mistake. He was reporter Kumabukuro , here to cover the pre-season bowl game of The Deimon Devil Bats and the Koigahama Cupids.

Hiruma was planning to give him a show. They were in the red zone. The critical area closest to the goal. 4th down was their last chance to get a touchdown before they would be forced to turn the ball over to the opposite team. Since kicking was out of the question, they needed a miniature miracle.

As the huddle formed, Hiruma was glad at the fact that he didn hear as much panting from his team as before the timeout. He picked at his judgement for a play. He turned around to take a glance at the Defense. They stood tall, not looking in any way that they were willing to give a few yards, much less a first down. He needed a touchdown. One chance, only one.

He had to heat things up. We was gonna start by slapping them right in their mouths. That meant one thing. Right up the middle. Fast and hard.

Hiruma scanned his linemen. They seemed to be doing well for their first game of the season. The three "Huh?" brothers had seemed to have been busting their asses since the last game of the last season. He knew that their pass protection was solid. At least this far. They could handle some man driving.

"Were gonna hit them where it hurts, got it? Right-R, Twenty-two man. Monta, I want you to lose that cornerback and suck the linebacker into jumping your route. Ready?"

"BREAK!"

The dispersing huddle fell quiet as the players all set themselves up upon the line of scrimmage.

0OoO0

Captain Hatsujou, outside linebacker saw the devil bat's star reciever, Raimon Tarou set himself up at his slot reciever position. He studied him carefully and saw that his eyes were nowhere near his cornerback. 'His stance…he's pointing himself. He's heading for the middle of the field. A chair or a quick in…Yeah, he's done,' he thought, 'Another interception for me'

A smile played upon his face as he began to shuffle his feet.

0OoO0

Sena was relieved as he saw the opposing team captain and linebacker, Hatsujou, begin to cheat to the outside, inching his way farther and farther away from the ball. By the time he stopped, he was already out of the play before it had even started.

The words "22 man" usually didn't mean much to most of the players on the Deimon team, but it meant all sorts of trouble to the offence of the devil bats and were letters and numbers of terror to Eyeshield 21.

"Twenty Two" is simply a contraction of a simple idea of the play. The first number stood for the person getting the ball, in the case the 2-back (the fullback). The second two is the number in which the lane for running the ball though should be opened. In this case, the two hole, which is in between the center (the man who snaps the ball) and the man next to him, the offensive guard.

Now usually this hole is plugged by the middle linebacker, thicker than the usual Japanese league player in the case of the cupids. He easily outweighed Sena by forty pounds. This was a big problem for Sena, as he wasn't the two back. He was a Runningback. A 4-back. In this play his job was to lead the 2-back through the hole and block the linebacker allowing the 2-back behind him to choose a side and run for it.

He was instrumental in this play. It wouldn't get two yards if he couldn't manage to block that man.

'I'm in trouble' he mumbled to himself behind his facemask.

0OoO0

The anxiety that Sena was feeling at this very moment was small to diminunative compared to that of the actual ball carrier in this play, Tetsuo Ishimaru. His hands shook as they clutched his thighpads, his eyes jumping from linebacker, to safety, to defensive lineman. His mind was spinning as he sized each up and decided that he was a dead man no matter who tackled him. In the back of his head he hoped that the sacrifice of his life would soften the fall of the team's pride of losing this game. He had to concentrate. If he went to the hospital now it would be the end of football for him. They would call his mother and she would find out that not only was he participating in extra-curricular activities, but the violent sport of American football. What the Koigahama defense didn't finish his mother would. But he had a chance.

His eyes opened wide as his field of vision seemed to expand. Be began to see in lines and routes. He could almost achieve precognition as he imagined a lane, littered with defenders, leading right into the thick white of the end-zone…

'Im in trouble' he whimpered to himself behind his facemask.

Whew. I might finish it, but whats the point if nobody reviews?


End file.
